In addition to the introduction of medical simulation, the traditional medical educational process is becoming enriched by the potential of 3D visualization and tele-education. Hoffmann and Murray22 have used 3D visualization for a next-generation educational program called VisualizeR. This program provides a medical student curriculum that has the 3D image of the Visible Human as the interface as well as the visual index to the contents. By clicking on an organ or body part, all information can be accessed, such as histology, anatomy, video clips of surgical procedures, radiological images, and so on. In addition, physiologic processes are animated to illustrate function. Because the images are full 3D, they can be manipulated for "fly through" diagnoses, structures taken apart and reassembled, or practiced on for surgical simulations. The curriculum currently resides on an internal network of computers at the University of California, San Diego; however, it is being converted to a Web-based format that will be available over the Internet. Several similar projects are emerging from other academic institutions, such as Imielìnska et al23 of Columbia University, New York, NY (The Vesalius Project) and Heinrichs and Dev24 of Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif (SUMMIT Project). All of these educational programs, which were started within the individual institutions, are moving toward Web-based applications. Powerful new platform-independent programming languages, such as Java, hypertext markup language (HTML), and virtual reality markup language (VRML), are just a few that are providing the opportunity for tele-education using any type of computer from any Internet connection. In addition, the educational sites are becoming total medical resources by providing links (through hypertext "hot links") to other important reference sources on other Web sites, such as the National Library of Medicine's MEDLINE for indexed publications or the Visible Human Project for full 3D anatomy reference. The original tele-education, which consisted of video conferencing from site to site in real time (synchronous education), is now supplemented by an entire universe of non–real-time education (asynchronous) through Web sites, allowing students the opportunity to supplement their education at a time most convenient to them. As indicated above, the key issue is not the technology, but the educational content of the Web site and, to a certain extent, the interface (how easy it is to understand and use). Because literally anyone can post a Web site, a premium is being paid to those who create the content. Educational value is thus attached to "brand equity" or "trusted source," meaning those reputable academic institutions that are known for high-quality education and whose Web sites live up to their parent institution's high educational standards. Thus, educational opportunities are moving in the direction of highly distributed educational curricula from trusted sources with greater convenience through asynchronous learning.